The Rebel has some competition, the Nikon D70
 

It looks pretty neat!

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/nikond70/default.asp
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http://www.nikonslr.com/home.html

I might get it this spring/summer...

Not much of a reaction here, but here's another link if anyone is interested...


http://www.letsgodigital.org/html/fi..._D70_EN01.html

I'm pretty damn excited about this camera :)

Benjamin,

Looks really interesting. Did you come across any info. on body construction. I'am a long time Nikon F2 shooter and my cams have been thru the works and never failed me. It's metal body for me...plastic won't do.

Regards,

Mark

Benjamin:

Thanks for posting--I've been VERY close to buying the Rebel and also considering the Canon 10D, all the while being disappointed about those Nikkor lenses that sit molding with my all-but-abandoned FM2 body. This is the probable answer to that dilemma. Now of course it'll be a couple of months before I can get one, damn!

As far as I can tell, the Rebel has better image quality features, most notably the ISO 100 setting (where the pictures are just unbelievably crisp). The Nikon only goes down to ISO 200 I believe. And it's black. :) But I think the Rebel is great.

Here's another preview:
http://www.digitalreview.ca/cams/NikonD70_intro.shtml

Mark:
This compariation with the D100 and Rebel notes that the D70 is Polycarbonate only while the D100 has an inner metal shell as well. Too bad, but at least it doesn't look as plasticy as the Rebel.

http://www.digitalreview.ca/cams/NikonD70_page5.shtml

Peter,
Just because the Rebel can go down to ISO100 dose not mean it has less noise at that level in comparison to Nikons ISO200. ISO is only talking about the light sensitivity and not the signal to noise ratio (or RMS granule for film) at that ISO setting.
I believe it was one of Canons top of the line DSLR’s that claimed to have as clean a picture at ISO400 as Fuji ISO100 E6 film (RMS granule of 8)

All in all it sounds like a interesting camera and might find its way into my camera bag as a light/cheap backup for my other cameras.

Happy Shooting
Alex

The noise issue between Canon and Nikon models will be decided when actual production models can be reviewed. But if past performance is any indication the Canon CMOS chip cameras will be hard to beat.

Ok I see Alex. Well, pictures I've taken at ISO 100, even at very low light (long exposure) have been as sharp as any picture I've ever taken with 100 speed film. So, like Jeff said, I think that's going to be hard to beat.

Charles, you don't want to use your old manual focus Nikkor lenses on the D70. It does not have a focusing aid in the viewfinder (but neither does the Digital Rebel or 10D). If you've got old equipment, just sell it, give it away, donate it, or keep it, but get modern (AF) lenses for your digital SLR.

The Nikon D70 has a better feature set than does the Rebel.....I'm a big fan of Canon's DSLR's and think the new EOS 1D mark II is the best DSLR in the world- but in sub $2000 DSLR's the Nikon D70 has the best specs of them all... if I had Nikon glass and was looking for an exceptional DSLR- the D70 would be 1st choice.

Having said that- I'm in absolute awe how Canon just trumps Nikon every single time they "announce" a new revolutionary new "professional" DSLR- the EOS 1D (II) just set the bar so high- the new Nikon D2H is hopelessly outclassed.....at $4500 Canon will sell every Mark II they make- get to your dealers now and put some $$$$ down- they'll be sold out before they even hit the store shelves.

(For those of you DSLR's enthusiasts who have read the specs- you'll know exactly what I mean- this is the equivalent of Canon coming out with a new XL1S that does hi-def with 3CCD's !!!)

Canon has announced that the total monthly production for the D1 mk II is 4,000 units per month (for world wide distribution). This is an Olympic year and I doubt the average photographer will get their hands on one until next winter. There will always be exceptions of course, but if the new D1 is off interest follow Steve's advice.

The D70 looks like it's a very good camera and something that Nikon users will be very happy with as an entry level DSLR.

The 1D(II) will be difficult to get but it also means there are going to be a lot of secondhand original 1Ds around. Even though the new version is one hell of a camera the original version is still an extremely capable DSLR and at secondhand prices good for advanced amatures.

And Charles, when you decide to give that junk away, let me know. I'll even pay shipping!

Are you guys saying it's impossible to focus manually without the focusing aid?

It's not impossible, but certainly not as easy as with a focusing aid. Many people have difficulty focusing on the matte screen. But I'm sure Charles' experience focusing video/film cameras manually would help considerably.

I hardly ever use manual focus anymore with my EOS camera as the auto-focus is better and faster. With the 1nRS I can select where I want to focus quickly anad easily. I used to use an AE1 that was manual focus and the spilt screen was much easier but along came auto focus and the EOS system and everything was much easier. It's like any tool, use what's best to get the best result. These days the auto-focus systems on even entry level SLRs is very good and the need to focus manually is rare even in low light. These new DSLRs are great tools for people who want to get into SLR photography and their advanced auto-focus systems let you concentrate more on image composition which is 75% of a good photo.

Maybe I'm not using it right, but I've found a whole lot of situations so far when the auto focus doesn't want to work. Though I've generally been happy with my manual focusing in those situations.

Interesting that you all are saying it's hard to focus with no aid. I always thought it was just me and my bad eyesight. :) Glasses don't really work well when you've got your eye up against a viewfinder either.

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Belics : And Charles, when you decide to give that junk away, let me know. I'll even pay shipping! -->>>

Junk! oh...it hurts....!

Maybe some Agus/Aldu35 builder would be interested....

No, no, no. Just send it my way. Remember...I'll pay shipping!!!

let me add that there is speculation of a price drop on the dr before the nikon ships...

some say 600-700 making room for a dr300 i with improved features matching that of the nikon like fps

as for the plastic shell, it's tough, for what your getting a consumer cam it is very tough...and by the way consider this...metal shell or plastic shell dropping a digital your going to have worry about things other then the shell like the lcd n such...

i like the dr colors and plastic shell, it does't absorb sunlight and it makes the cam very light...